Destination Rio: Korea U23 3-1 Qatar U23!

Start booking your plane tickets to Rio people. Or maybe book off an entire month next summer for couch potato-ing. The men’s South Korean U23 team is going to Rio! It was a hard fought battle against Qatar, but a late goal from Kwon Changhoon and an insurance goal from Moon Changjin was enough to qualify this team for a Rio Olympic berth – all while setting up an epic Haniljeon in the finals of the AFC U23 Championship.

More after the jump.

Starting XI

Shin Taeyong threw a curveball with his team selection. A 3-4-2-1. Talk about tactical innovation. I struggle to think of any Korean team which has become so tactically adept, not even the senior squad. This team is able to play a dangerous 4-1-4-1, a 4-4-2 diamond which has some flaws but does allow for a two top system, a conventional 4-2-3-1 and played a 3-4-2-1 (also a 5-4-1) which accomplished its purpose today.
A major gamble in taking out a midfielder/forward by adding a defender meant that we needed to bench a couple players. Moon Changjin and Hwang Heechan started the match on the bench, meaning that Hwang Kiwook and Kim Hyun were in the first XI. Hwang probably better fits the 5-4-1 system, as he offers more of a defensive side than the attacking midfield prowess of Moon Changjin, while Kim Hyun represents more of an aerial threat than Hwang.

The idea of the system was obviously to defend and counter, all while neutralising Qatari threats through midfield, like Moein and Assim, and making sure that the defensive pair can always have one person taking care of Ahmed Alaa at all times. In the first half, as you’ll see in the next images, it worked like a charm.

Note: this is not a tactical analysis by Zonal Marking. This is a 16 year old taking a few screenshots from his iPad to try to show why he thinks he’s right.

The play in the 13th minute is a pretty accurate assessment of what Korea was trying to do. Park Yongwoo is given lots of space to play a ball from deep – he’s playing as that ball playing centreback here. There’s a lot of Qatari players in ineffective positions that seem to reflect of a sort of zonal-oriented mindset. Park could have gone with the aerial option, which presented itself more often than not during the match because the Qatari didn’t allow THAT much space up the middle. Kim Hyun came short, touched it over to Ryu Seungwoo, who could have run into the box but he’s lost his balance here and has run out of space. He smartly stretches the play to Shim Sangmin, the leftback, who’s cross whistles past the head of Kim Hyun and Kwon Changhoon, the far attacking midfielder. No, we didn’t score, but it was a half-chance that reflects well how we used the space Qatar gave us effectively, stretched the play when needed and tried to use our target man.

After the first 15 minutes, Korea had 62% possession. But we were playing defend and counter? Sure. But Qatar was so often losing the ball up the middle. Asad and Assim were often shut down quickly by Lee Changmin and Hwang Kiwook, whose defensive contribution was crucial. It was risky to play him in such a vital game, but the main reason the Qataris were unable to keep on to possession and threaten with passes up the middle and their pace was because the play was forced out wide so often, getting the ball into less dangerous spaces. It also allowed Kwon Changhoon and Lee Changmin to track back and pressure Qatar’s indecision.

As I re-watch the game, I notice how much Hwang Kiwook was my favourite player in this game. In the 25th minute, he tries this audacious attempt that had it been on target would have been somewhat reminiscent of Dele Alli’s goal this past weekend. He takes three touches. The first takes Moein out of the play, the second settles the ball down, the third undresses Assim and the finish… well, it left much to be desired. But Hwang’s confidence was high enough for him to try something like this in such a big game – and Qatar’s defensive mids were collectively humiliated by one of their opposite numbers.

Because of the midfield congestion, we also saw a much more direct style of play from Qatar, with longballs over the top that attempted to bypass the Korean midfield. Ahmed Alaa is really in no way a target forward, and he’s not even just tall like Kim Hyun is. The distribution was quite poor as well, and this style of play certainly didn’t work. (Their goalkeeper Muhannad Naim needs a bit of target practice. Goalkeeping distribution not his strength.)

For all of Korea’s hard defensive work in this half, it is fair to say that despite us creating more half-chances than Qatar, and neutralizing their midfield threats, forcing the game out wide where Qatar was decidedly uncreative and making a team not made for a direct style of play resort to a recurrent long ball, we offered very little offensively. Kim Hyun is tall, and he’s not a bad target man – he certainly did a better job today than Kim Shinwook at the EAC vs Japan, we didn’t have enough opportunities with crosses into the box than in other matches. So when halftime came, the Qataris were probably the more frustrated of the two teams, but Korea had to do something to get the goal they needed.

Second Half

Korea came out with a bit more drive in the second half. It wasn’t so much of a tactical shift than a mentality shift. The team looked more hungry, and knew that neutralizing Qatar would not suffice – we needed to take the lead. And in the 48th minute, we did just that. The goal did indeed come from a counter scenario, but it was more a case of Qatar not recognizing the threat than a rapid fire attack.
(Yeon Jeimin’s put under a bit of pressure. Kwon Changhoon comes short – he does this much better this half.)

Yeon Jeimin (far left of your screen, behind a Qatari player) is under a bit of pressure. Kwon Changhoon (closest player to the bald Qatari coach) nutmegs a pass to Hwang Kiwook.Hwang Kiwook spots Ryu’s run. Kim Hyun is off to right of screen. Quick position change there.You can sort of see ball right about the start arrow. Al Muhaiza is going “oh shit” and begins running. Ryu is well in stride.Ryu prods it past the Qatari keeper who really shouldn’t have gone for that, never mind jump over the ball and fail to make himself big #neuerfail

The defensive work didn’t stop… here’s Lee Changmin with a vital tackle on Alaa in a rare time when Qatar got in behind both of the central midfielders.

Hwang Kiwook came out in the 60th minute to what looked like the mixture of getting a cleat to the thigh and cramps. Moon Changjin came in, and I suspect this might not have been Shin’s preferred substitution to make, at least, not this early in the match. It took out a reliable defensive mid who was playing an exceptional game and put in a player who is has much more offensive qualities.

Moon was inserted directly behind Kim Hyun as he entered the game, and the impact was immediate – the “flowing attack” of Shin Taeyong’s U23s returned. Moon has a chance with a shot on probably his first touch, but it was right on the keeper. Minutes later, Lee Changmin strike whistled past the bar, with a load of curve on his shot.

The team switched to a 4-2-3-1, with Park Yongwoo and Lee Changmin in the double-six, Kwon and Ryu out wide, Moon Changjin in behind Kim Hyun.
Qatar did have a dangerous chance in the 65th minute, and it really marked the beginning of a much more open game than before. There were channels which previously weren’t open and Qatar made use of them well. Assim played a one two with the right back, and a cross was feathered in and Lee Changmin came halfway on his marking responsibilities of Asad, who hit a powerful header. Luckily, Kim Dongjun had his near post covered and he punched away the save.

Korea made their final formation switch of the game, moving to a 4-4-2 diamond. They were a tad less assured defensively because of the formation switch but Qatar hadn’t really threatened with a serious chance until they scored in the 80th minute. Abdelkarim Hassan hit a blistering cross that went through the box and came out the other side to rightback Musaid.

Musaid hits a cross in the box. Lee Changmin IS NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO HIS MAN. I suppose one of the centre backs also could have tried to step up but it’s harder to blame them.Alaa has moved into space now and Song Juhun does need to come over and make that difficult for Alaa, but he’s watching the ball come in with fascination.

Alaa taps it with his right foot right at Kim Dongjun, but it’s in that awkward area of indecision where you can either use your feet or try to get down and smother it. Kim is somewhat responsible for the goal, yes, but like that wrongly disallowed goal vs Jordan and the header chance earlier, there’s an inexcusable defensive error or two as a player fails to mark their man.

And now things get crazy. Akram Afif is unleashed in the 82nd minute, and it takes a sliding block from Yeon Jeimin to cut off the angle for Afif to finish his charging run with a shot on target. The crowd hollers for penalty but Afif clearly fell over. 84th minute, shambolic defending. The defensive line falls into a very flat five-back. Qatar play a couple of quick passes, and Yeon Jeimin puts in a errant tackle that allows Alaa a shot on goal 1v1 vs Kim Dongjun, but Kim denies him from close range. 85th minute, Kwon takes a dipping shot from distance but it’s well saved.

After Afif manages to run aimlessly into the heart of the Korean defence twice in less than 30 seconds, and Abdelkarim Hassan decides that as captain, the best thing to do in this situation is to go for glory from like 35 yards with no shooting angle whatsoever, Korea get the winning goal.

Qatar is overwhelmed and you have to think that fitness is a part of it. It’s a 6 v 5 as Lee Seulchan’s entered the fray. Kim Hyun’s played the pass to him after he received a short pass from Hwang Heechan.Kwon Changhoon (the guy that no one is close to stopping) finds a nice pocket of space and Lee crosses it low to him. It’s a tap in. 2-1 Korea.

Korea makes a final sub, bringing on Jung Seunghyun for Kim Hyun. Qatar is clearly very tired. An errant backpass, missing the touch to control the ball from a pass, crossing the ball into the keeper’s hands. The fatigue was clearly identifiable, and there wasn’t even hope of a last-gasp equalizer from the worn-out players on the pitch.

The final goal came in the 96th minute, and it was signed Hwang Heechan – a truly special amount of skill from the clever forward. He runs to the sidelines and is confronted by two utterly tired Qatari defenders. Touch, nutmeg in he’s into acres of space. The rest is simple – a pass to Moon Changjin, who cuts in and slots home.

Find Toyota sign. See the player in a white shirt. That’s Hwang Heechan, with two Qatari players on him.Find Hwang Heechan. Notice how the two Qatari players are in his dust. He literally nutmegged the second guy and the first guy was hopeless.Oh look! I see an unmarked Moon Changjin #7! He proceeds to cut in and slot home.

The final whistle blows. Shin Taeyong raises his fists in the air. Korea is going to Rio.

Shin Taeyong I love you please coach KNT one day

What’s Next?

A final date with Japan. Saturday morning. An extra time podcast on your way to discuss that. Are you ready to KICK JAPAN’S ASS? (I swear that wasn’t a Sarah Palin imitation.)

Good night. My sanity level is at 0% after working on this post for hours. Thanks for reading.

> Tavern Owner interrupting: Tavern hall of famer Jae Chee translated the KFA article on the newest Miracle of Doha and the U23 win over Qatar – you can read that here.

We can call it that. Could have been much better tbh, but I wanted to sleep. Wanted to show how Hwang Kiwook and Lee Changmin did such a tidy job in the first half. And show the new space that Qatar made use of in second. We don’t have to go 5 back against Japan precisely because Qatar are better at using those spaces in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2 diamond. Plus the defensive positioning is very tiring. And we need to be more offensively capable.

Of course I would have much preferred a move to Europe too. But the fact that he moved to the J League probably means that he didn’t get any European offers. Moreover, as much as I hate to admit it, it has historically been easier to move to Europe from the J League than from the K League. So maybe that’s what he was after. There must be a compelling reason for why literally all of our goalkeepers with military exemption left for europe except for No Dong Geon left to Japan of all places….

You’ve also confirmed my suspicions of there big no interest from Europe after a fairly average/mediocre performance in the asian cup and world cup (hopefully Kim Jin-Hyeon has more interest). I still doubt whether this was a good move for the KNT. I mean the J-League and K-League are at pretty much the same quality with the J-League growing at a faster rate, but with that being said why move to the J-League?? He was a popular name in Korea believe it or not and this move seems like he isnt progressing in anyway himself, but he is dragging the K League down. Albeit, I love the J-League, whenever a big figure from the K-League moves to Japan or China, It gives me more doubts on whether the K -League can remain a powerhouse asian league.
And yes, I used to visit the BSK Forumns reguarly for the latest but from about 2013 I’ve been more active on the Tavern, just not commenting 😛

ahh yes I remember you we used to talk quite a bit back in the day, I’m jinseokyang (not that hard to see lol)

We’re going to address these kinds of K League exodus issues and questions of whether the K League can remain competitive in the long run… in a podcast with the genius that is Steven Han. You’ve most definitely read articels by Steve – he is probably the most knowledgeable man I’ve ever seen when it comes to the K League

With regards to GK I’m just gonna ride my hopes on Kim Dong Jun, who imo is the best goalkeeper to go through our youth ranks in a long time. Plus we get to see the super hyped Kim Roman in action this upcoming K League season… but for now in the KNT the #1 will likely be Kim Jin Hyeon

Yeah looking forward to Kim Roman’s debut, but whats the situation with him? Has he declared for Korea? As for the KDJ theory I’d be willing to ride my bet on that too, but for now I want to see our KNT #1 play in a far more testing league than the J league 2 or even KSG at a mid table J-League team is dissapointing.
Looking forward to the podcast with Steve Han, as Ive been a big fan of what he’s had to say for the last couple of years.
Good to talk again :L

K League Classic

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Jeonbuk Motors

77

2

Gyeongnam

58

3

Ulsan

56

4

Suwon Bluewings

49

5

Pohang Steelers

47

6

Jeju United

44

7

Gangwon

39

8

Daegu

39

9

Seoul

35

10

Sangju Sangmu

33

11

Jeonnam Dragons

32

12

Incheon United

30

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

November 11, 2018

Seoul

3 - 2

Jeonnam Dragons

Daegu

0 - 0

Sangju Sangmu

November 10, 2018

Gyeongnam

1 - 2

Pohang Steelers

Jeju United

0 - 0

Jeonbuk Motors

Suwon Bluewings

3 - 3

Ulsan

Gangwon

2 - 3

Incheon United

English Premier League

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Manchester City

32

2

Liverpool

30

3

Chelsea

28

4

Tottenham Hotspur

27

5

Arsenal

24

6

AFC Bournemouth

20

7

Watford

20

8

Manchester United

20

9

Everton

19

10

Leicester City

17

11

Wolverhampton Wanderers

16

12

Brighton & Hov…

14

13

West Ham United

12

14

Newcastle United

9

15

Burnley

9

16

Crystal Palace

8

17

Southampton

8

18

Cardiff City

8

19

Huddersfield Town

7

20

Fulham

5

Hwang Heechan

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Red Bull Salzburg

38

Bundesliga

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

1

Borussia Dortmund

27

2

Borussia Mönchengladbach

23

3

RB Leipzig

22

4

Eintracht Frankfurt

20

5

Bayern München

20

6

TSG 1899 Hoffenheim

19

7

Werder Bremen

17

8

Hertha BSC

16

9

1. FSV Mainz 05

15

10

Augsburg 1907

13

11

SC Freiburg

13

12

Wolfsburg

12

13

Bayer 04 Leverkusen

11

14

Schalke 04

10

15

Nürnberg

10

16

Hannover 96

9

17

Fortuna Düsseldorf

8

18

Stuttgart

8

Kwon Changhoon

Most recent soccer data here. The system is currently retrieving statistics from data feed.

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Team

P

18

Dijon

11

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